Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-02-21
THE INVESTIGATION.
The Common Sense View of a Patriotic
Newspaper.


New York Times.
| There is an ancient and tishlike fisVor
in the announcement that sub-commit-
! tee of the Senate is investigating tale
of outrage in Texas. Measured by the
calendar it is not so long since an inveS-
| tigation of this kind formed one of the
relaXationS of every session of Congress.
| The result was never anything practical.
/ The most that was achieved was more
or less picturesque exhibition of southern
manners and customs and the man ufac-
ture of Campaign thunder"
1t is proof how fast the world moves
that the present investigation should have
so antiquated an air. 1t may be a proof
also how slowly the Senate moves that
the msiority of its members should i'm
agine that there is any public or party
purpose now to be achieved by an investi-
CATION of this sort. Senator HOar by
some mischance does not figure on the
committee, where his zeal and his simple
faith that great work was to be accom-
plished by the investigation would make
| him invaluable as survival and
reminder OF by-gOne state OF things.
His place is taken by the junior, now soon
| to become the senior, Senator from New
York. Mr.. EvSrts is by no means so IA
miliar an object as Mr.. Hoar IN the atti-
tude of brandishng the torch that is to fire
the northern heart. But then Mr.. Evalts,
political sagacity impels him to place him
self boldly on the safe side Of an issue of
some kind, and there are so few issues
about which he can be reasonably certain
which the safe side is. He has upon diff
ferent occasions planted himself firmly on
Doth sides Of the great lard-cheese and
suet-butter issue, though one of these
committals was professional and perhaps
does not count. Upon silver and civil
service reform and other topics of current
interest upon which men differ, he las
avoided disfavor by maintaining silence.
But there can be no dissent from the
proposition that outrages are outrage
| Gus. Mr.. Evsrts may shed the last word
of his vocabulary in defense of that prop
osition without running the least risk, and
| it Is to be expected that the subject
matter of this investigation will afford
ccngenial theme for the elOquence so Of
ten obStruCted by consideration Of the
uncertainty of human affairs.
| In respect Of picturesque material for
social philosophers and nOvelists the
present Investigation bids fair to rival
any one of its predecessors. The frank
ness with which the Texan carries out
his resolution that Republican precinct
shall not be permitted to give Re-
! publican majority is extremely interest
! ing. lie does not trouble himself to
intimidate the colored Republicans
or to deprive them of their votes.
| After they have voted as they like, the
white Democrats simply destroy the bal
| lot boxes and suppress all evidences of
the unfavorsble result. Occasionally the
custodians of the boxes resist this method
Of determining elections, and then TRACE
dies occur, such as the homicide which
| the subcommittee is now engaged in in
vestigating.
Everybody will agree with Senator
| Hosr in retrospect, and with Senator
| Eyarts in advance, that this condition of
things is very pitiful and very scendalous.
! These statesmen in their turn will find
themselves compelled to agree with
everybody that there Is nothing that the
Senate can wisely or effectually do in the
premises. The prescription of these
statesmen that everybody should vote
the Republican ticket has been
tried and has failed. When the
executive and both houses of Congress
were Republican, outrdges at elections
in the south were considerably more rife
and more serious than they are ct pres
ent. We do not mean to say that this is
case of cause and effect, but
simply that the political complex
ion of the government has nothing
directly to do with outrsges.
The Republican party could not put q
slop to them when it was in full power,
and they have not entirely ceased now
when the Democrats have control of the
Executive Department and of the Lower
House. They will be diminished by the
progress of civilization, aud the most
effectual way of contributing to this re-
suit is by increasing the number of
schools, churches, newspapers, and
other agencies of Enlightenment in the re-
gion in which they prevail. The applica-
tion of this method, however, is scarcely
within the competency of the Senate, and
perhaps the best course open to that
J body to take with regard to an election
row in Texas is the same that it would
take with regard to an election row IN
New Hampshire, to wit, to do nothing at
all.